Lawrence Vandada
An outspoken and passionate member of the New-Merican Society, Lawrence is a rare non-criminal spawn of the Vandada Family. He would decide the best way to achieve long-term gain was through building civilization and found that Tall Town and its New-Mericans perfectly fit his wants. Biography Lawrence was born to a road-stop prostitute named Cinnamon and Torrance Vandada who was hiding out as a short-order cook named Grover. He would leave with Lawrence when the boy was two and move to Plummet, where he worked as a smuggler. Lawrence would be left with a wet-nurse, who the boy thought was his mother until he was nine as his father moved goods across the Badlands. When Lawrence was seven his father began to take him on jobs and teach him some skills he'd need. He also told his son of their family tale and the blood-feuds, as well about Ethical Egoism, the family philosophy. Lawrence enjoyed these years with his dad, but he would be much less enthusiastic when the older 'remarried' when the boy was ten. The woman was an associate of Torrance's who had tired of the life and fallen for the man but didn't care much for the son. The two would have a functional if icy relationship, and Lawrence would start to spend his free time out of the house, usually watching McRuddy and his men fleece traders. Lawrence would be given a rude awakening in 2265 when his step-mother announced she was pregnant. His father's stories still fresh in his mind, the teen decided to leave before he had another target on his back. He slipped out the next morning with a group of migrant laborers, and spent the next five years working the farms and ranches of the Badlands. He would stay on each for a few months at most, either finding the rules too restrictive or the pay too low. He would be working on a ranch with both problems in early 2270 when he first heard of Tall Town. He was told by the farmer to go into town with him and get grain at the store, Lawrence would find the settlement more than lived up to it's name, seeming lively as well as imposing. He would abandon the wagon and his pay to explore the town, and happened to come across a public debate of the New-Merican Society. He found he agreed with the great majority of the ideas presented by the members, and would approach one after the debate ended. He was told of the New-Mericans and the American Northern Army, as well as the general structure of the organization. Lawrence knew this was his alternative to crime, and would find odd-jobs for the rest of the year, and headed into the ruins just before the first snow. Most of those who cared or were interested would dismiss him as dead, but he would return just after it turned spring. Lawrence would immediately go to the zoning board and buy the claim to a building several blocks away from the wall. He then had fliers printed up advertising rooms for sale, no questions asked. He would fill the building by the end of the week and use the profit to buy the claim to four other buildings, which he marketed the same way. He used the profits to buy a small home within the town, and applied to join the New-Merican Society. Lawrence would be accepted and was quickly a well-known (and vocal) member of any assembly. He would rest and socialize for the first half of 2271, but by August was again scheming a way to profit. He would find it in Nelson Plenty-Leaves, a Dakota rancher hoping to move his operation nearby. He approached several members of the Society seeking a local patron, some of whom were offended by his plan. Having interests in ranching, they asked Lawrence to do something about the Indian, hoping his name was enough to go on. Lawrence agreed to help, and when approached by the newcomer, he acted very sympathetic. He offered to show him several nice spots around town, and the two planned to meet up the next morning. Lawrence would return by himself that night with a bleeding arm claiming they were ambushed by raiders. While most people bought the story and praised his fortune in escaping, there would be several doubters however, including the doctor that bandaged his arm, who thought the wound looked self-inflicted. The story would be bought however and the militia was quickly sent after the raiders. They would be unable to turn up any sign of them though and Lawrence would suddenly come into possession of a warehouse in town. He would retrofit it into a hotel and start catering to merchants and travelers. He would also run for Society Treasurer, winning a narrow victory that many attributed to a surprisingly clean campaign. Lawrence would network like never before with his new post. Though he was only a mediocre treasurer, most were content that Lawrence was not embezzling. He declined to run again in 2275 and focused on his hotel, which had gained a solid customer base with the caravanners of the region. He would expand in 2280, purchasing another building and converting it into a common house for the poor, increasing his good will. When the Generals' War started, Lawrence saw a golden political goose and stopped wearing suits in public, claiming he had donated them for uniforms. This along with occasionally giving a free room to ANA troopers made him an extremely popular man in Tall Town, though he has yet to take advantage of it. As 2287 winds down he has begun to eye the various candidates and politicians of not only the Society but also of Smithsforge and Belfield as well, ever looking to gain. Appearance Lawrence is a shorter man with a semi-permanent calculating look on his face. He prefers fine suits and tailored clothing, but since the start of the Generals' War, he has taken to wearing rags and pots, swearing that he donated his clothes for uniforms. Category:Badlands